Human Hearts, Future Talks
by goshinote
Summary: One-Shot...Set during The Day of Days episode from Inuyasha: The Final Act. At the end of the day that held a near-kiss moment, Kagome finds herself asking Inuyasha a question that she herself is scared of, leading Inuyasha to only grow more certain in the resolve of the answer he gives her. Together, they gently try to put their unpredictable future into perspective...Complete!


Hi, lovelies.

So there I was, once again procrastinating on my homework and re-watching Inuyasha TFA. I was watching the final few episodes when Inuyasha turned full-yokai inside Naraku and how he was so desperate to revert to a hanyo to protect Kagome (which, btw, is so beautiful) and I was like, huh, you know, Inuyasha never flat-out told Kagome that he no longer wanted to use the jewel to become a full-yokai (unless he did and I just forget. Either way, it's like one in the morning so please don't judge). Anyway, this is how I think the conversation could have gone. Set in TFA Episode 18: The Day of Days.  
Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

 **Human Hearts, Future Talks**

 _If that's what you want, then I promise I'll protect you with my life._

That was my promise to Kagome. My vow to her. Above anything else, she was what I would strive to protect the most.

I'd desperately wanted to kiss her, and I knew she felt the same. Then Sota had barged in so we hadn't gotten to, but I wasn't nearly as mad about it as I thought I'd be.

I'd laid out my promise to Kagome. She knew, and even thought I hadn't put my feelings into explicit words, I knew that she understood.

That night, we stayed at her house to rest up before returning to the village.

"Good night, Inuyasha," Kagome said as she crawled into her bed and pulled her blanket up over her.

"Night," I murmured from my perch in front of her nightstand. Whenever we were at her house, I was always next to her, always protecting her. This era was nowhere near as dangerous as the one beyond the well, but my desire to protect her and the raw necessity was too much to shake.

About ten minutes had gone by since she'd laid down, but from the lack of her even breathing and steady heartbeat that always portrayed if she were asleep, I could tell that she was still awake.

"You got something on your mind?" I asked. Kagome sighed.

"How did you know I was awake?" she asked. I looked up and met her gaze.

"You know I can always tell," I replied. Kagome gave a small smile. "Yeah," she said. "And there is something on my mind…" I looked her expectantly.

"Alright, go ahead," I said. "What is it?" Kagome got up off of her bed and came to sit down on the floor in front of me. Our positions mirrored where we'd been earlier that day before Sota had barged into her room, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I was just thinking about the jewel," she replied. "Well, I guess we're always thinking about the jewel in some way, so I guess that's a weird way to put it. I was actually thinking more about you. I was thinking about you…and the jewel…and what will happen when we complete it." I winced at the thought of the unknown.

"Yeah, I guess we've never really talked about that," I replied. "But…I've been thinking about it, too." Kagome looked surprised.

"You have?" she asked. I nodded in affirmation. "Of course, baka," I said lightly. "I think about the future sometimes." She smiled.

"I'll admit something to you," she said. "I picture you in my future." I smiled back at her.

"I picture you in my future, too," I replied. Kagome's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked. I chuckled.

"Duh, baka," I replied. "I thought it was pretty obvious by now." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"You can be so dense," she said. "But I'm not going to pick a fight right now. I'm happy to hear you say that, but that's not quite what I was talking about." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Okay," I replied. "Then what's bothering you?" Kagome shifted nervously.

"Do you remember when we met?" she asked. "And how you wanted to use the jewel to become a full-yokai?" I nodded. At my affirmation, Kagome hesitated. "Well…do you still?" I was shocked.

"No way," I replied without hesitation. "Of course not. Did you think that that's what I wanted?" Kagome eyes filled with tears.

"I just…everything is so insane lately," she said. "I feel like nothing makes sense anymore and no one is safe and I'm just gonna go crazy, too." She sniffled. "I want to be prepared if you plan on becoming a full-yokai because even if you do picture me in your future now, I don't think you'll want me to be once you're no longer a hanyo." Kagome had shocked me into silence. I loved Kagome. No way was I gonna give her up for a little more power.

"Kagome," I murmured. "I'm not going to become a full-yokai. You lo…you like me as a hanyo, right?" I'd nearly spit out the big _love_ , but luckily I'd caught myself in time. Kagome nodded.

"Well, then I'm gonna stay one," I continued. "My human heart is who I am. The yokai abilities allow me to protect the people that I care about in my human heart. They complement each other and rely on one another. I'm not going to give up my human heart because then I wouldn't have anything left to protect." I raised my hand to Kagome's cheek.

"And I have so much to protect," I said. "I have some _one_ to protect." Kagome finally smiled.

"With your life?" she asked, echoing my words from earlier today. I smirked.

"Duh," I replied. Kagome set her hand on mine.

"Me, too," she said. "I know I'm not as powerful as you, but I'll protect you in any way that I can."

"You do protect me, Kagome," I replied seriously. "You've protected me from loneliness, sadness, and from myself. You've saved me from me more times than I can count, and I'm so grateful for it." A tear fell down Kagome's cheek at my words, and as the drop reached my hand, Kagome smiled again.

"So then after the jewel is gone and Naraku is dead…" she began. "…what are you planning to do?"

 _Marry you,_ I thought to myself. _No, bad dog. Don't announce that right now._

"I don't exactly know," I replied. "But I do know that whatever I do, wherever I go, I want you beside me." Kagome took my hand squeezed.

"I always will be," she said. "I told you before…I'll always be by your side." I smiled at her and brought her hand up to rest over my heart.

"My heart," I began. "My human heart…it's yours." Kagome's eyes widened as a few more tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she said quietly.

For a moment, I was caught off-guard. I wasn't expecting her to blurt it out like that. I mean, yeah, I knew she loved me, and yeah, she knew I loved her. We'd just never flat-out admitted it like that before.

But, heck. If she was gonna go for it, then I would, too.

"I love you, Kagome," I replied.

Then finally, I leaned in and gently touched my lips to hers. Kagome melted beneath my touch, and her arms came to wrap around my neck as I pulled her to my chest and encompassed her in an embrace.

The kiss was soft and sweet, but also long and lingering. With every caress of our lips against the other's, I felt a new spark add to my internal fire: the fire that burned for Kagome.

And when we finally pulled away, we didn't say anything else. We didn't need to.

We just stayed in each other's arms until Kagome finally fell asleep.

And then so did I, with Kagome never leaving my mind or my arms until I drifted off into slumber.

FIN.

Okay, so I super duper like this and I super duper hope that you guys do, too!

Much love. :)


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